In Interop, technology experts John Palfrey and Urs Gasser
explore the immense importance of interoperability—the standardization
and integration of technology—and show how this simple principle will
hold the key to our success in the coming decades and beyond.

The
practice of standardization has been facilitating innovation and
economic growth for centuries. The standardization of the railroad gauge
revolutionized the flow of commodities, the standardization of money
revolutionized debt markets and simplified trade, and the
standardization of credit networks has allowed for the purchase of goods
using money deposited in a bank half a world away. These advancements
did not eradicate the different systems they affected; instead, each
system has been transformed so that it can interoperate with systems all
over the world, while still preserving local diversity.

As
Palfrey and Gasser show, interoperability is a critical aspect of any
successful system—and now it is more important than ever. Today we are
confronted with challenges that affect us on a global scale: the
financial crisis, the quest for sustainable energy, and the need to
reform health care systems and improve global disaster response systems.
The successful flow of information across systems is crucial if we are
to solve these problems, but we must also learn to manage the vast
degree of interconnection inherent in each system involved.
Interoperability offers a number of solutions to these global
challenges, but Palfrey and Gasser also consider its potential negative
effects, especially with respect to privacy, security, and co-dependence
of states; indeed, interoperability has already sparked debates about
document data formats, digital music, and how to create successful yet
safe cloud computing. Interop demonstrates that, in order to get
the most out of interoperability while minimizing its risks, we will
need to fundamentally revisit our understanding of how it works, and how
it can allow for improvements in each of its constituent parts.

In Interop,
Palfrey and Gasser argue that there needs to be a nuanced, stable
theory of interoperability—one that still generates efficiencies, but
which also ensures a sustainable mode of interconnection. Pointing the
way forward for the new information economy, Interop provides valuable insights into how technological integration and innovation can flourish in the twenty-first century.

Book Chapters:

The following four full book chapters are accessible for free as PDFs.

An interactive Interop presentation on Zeega includes videos with the authors and information about the interop behind Interop, created by Berkman summer 2012 interns Gabbi Fisher, Shaun Geer, Luca Piccin, and Gili Vidan.